Survey: Consumers Want More Finance Resources Online

Consumers want more access to online information and resources to help them manage their personal finances better, especially during tax season.

This finding came from a recent poll in which the majority of respondents cited tax season as when they evaluate their financial health.

The Consumer Preference Index poll was conducted by Prospectiv, a provider of online customer acquisition solutions to consumer brands. The Woburn, MA, company owns and operates online properties Eversave.com, Healthier.com and TheKnowledgeStop.com.

The consumers said their top three resources for personal finance information are financial advisers/accountants (26 percent), family and friends (23 percent) and online resources, including Web sites and e-mail (20 percent). But when asked their preference for accessing such information, online resources jumped to 38 percent. Financial advisers/accountants stayed at 26 percent, and family and friends dropped to 9 percent.

In addition, 63 percent would be very likely or are likely to take advantage of online resources such as personal finance-focused Web sites and e-newsletters tailored to their specific interests.

"These survey results are yet another proof point that more consumers are first looking to the Internet to research and evaluate their personal finance options," Prospectiv CEO Jere Doyle said. "Consumers are also eager for more information tailored to their specific interests, which provides a great opportunity for marketers of personal finance products and services to ... provide them with the information they need, either through an e-newsletter or Web sites focused on specific personal finance issues."

Credit card debt was found to be consumers' biggest concern, followed by savings and investments. And though the majority of the 70 percent who received a tax refund last year used it for personal spending, most consumers this year plan to allocate their refund to savings accounts and credit card payments.

Prospectiv conducted the 2006 Personal Finance survey online, gathering responses from more than 200 U.S. consumers. It was conducted Feb. 27-March 2.

Melissa Campanelli covers postal news, CRM and database marketing for DM News and DMNews.com. To keep up with the latest developments in these areas, subscribe to our daily and weekly e-mail newsletters by visiting www.dmnews.com/newsletter

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